Concerns Mount about Special Forces Withdrawal From Wardak

Concerns are mounting among Afghan members of Parliament and military leaders about Karzai's recent order for the removal of U.S. Special Forces from Wardak province. Many feel that the SF teams departure will leave a vacuum that the Taliban can exploit. There are senior officers in the ANA who feel that their forces are not quite ready yet to take on the Taliban in the province without the capabilities that the Special Forces advisers and their respective Afghan special operations forces (ALP, commandos, PRC, and ANASF) provide. Wardak province is adjacent to Kabul - the capital of Afghanistan. Read more in "Analysis: Afghan security vacuum feared along "gateway to Kabul", Reuters, March 13, 2013.